House is a hostage, and Thirteen decides to live

“Last Resort” furthered the storyline of Thirteen, who is behaving dangerously after being diagnosed with Huntington’s, a genetic nerve disorder that gives her about 8-10 years to live. It also touched on the relationship between House and Cuddy.

As it opens, House is messing around in Cuddy’s desk just feet from a crowded clinic. One of the patients comes in asking House for Cuddy. A few minutes later, the man has taken the clinic patients, House and Thirteen hostage. He says he’s been to 16 doctors in the last two years and no one can figure out what’s wrong with him. He’s going to hold the group hostage until someone does.

(Fox)

Hugh Laurie’s House is a ray of sunshine.

House hears his symptoms and asks for a drug to be brought in. Cuddy is allowed to bring the drug in after assuring police she has no relationship with anyone inside. “She might be armed, maybe you should have her deliver it shirtless,” House suggests.

The man, Jason, doesn’t trust House and tells him to give the drug first to someone else. House injects the biggest man in the group. But before he can give the drug to Jason, the man collapses. The drug is a sedative, and because he has been tricked, Jason shoots one of the hostages in the leg.

House gets on the phone and asks his two teams, past and present, to help diagnose the symptoms. Chase is sure House will wind up getting someone killed and walks out. They come up with several ideas but none work. Each time Cuddy brings a drug in, Jason insists that someone else try it. Thirteen volunteers. Because of this she gets increasingly ill. Her heart rate slows to below 50 beats a minute.

House begins to suspect a tumor and tells Jason he needs to go to radiology. After scaring one woman into puking all over Cuddy’s office, Jason releases some of the hostages, including the sedated and shot men, and a group of six, including House and Thirteen, rope themselves together with Jason in the middle, protected.

House can’t get a good image because the gun Jason is holding messes up the screen, so Jason agrees to let House have the gun. Some hostages run off, but a young man and Thirteen remain. Jason doesn’t have a tumor. They are running out of ideas. House gives Jason back his gun, then arranges another conference call with the team members. This time Foreman feels sure House is endangering lives by giving back the gun and leaves.

The only thing the team can come up with are illnesses that require stays in other climates. Jason says he’s never been to them, never been anywhere further south than Florida. When House stares at him, he realizes that Florida is considered a tropical climate. He is given the medicine to treat his illness, but insists that everyone but Thirteen leave. And, of course, he wants Thirteen to take the drug first. Because of her Huntington’s and the other medicines, which have caused her kidneys to shut down, Thirteen knows that she will die if she tries this drug.

“I don’t want to die,” she says, surprised by the realization. Finally Jason grabs it and injects it into himself. Seconds later, a blast from the SWAT team goes off and they enter the room. House goes to Thirteen and is surprised she is alive. She will require a week’s worth of dialysis and then should be all right.

She tells Foreman, who apologizes for leaving during the differential, that she would like to be involved in his drug trial for Huntington’s.

Meanwhile Cuddy goes to her office and sees blood, vomit, House’s writing of possible diagnoses on the wall and a general mess. She says how good it is that they aren’t in a relationship, or things would have been complicated. Then they dance around whether either one of them wants a relationship. As he walks away, Cuddy sits down at her desks and pulls out the top drawer. House had been putting it in upside down when Jason first came in, and everything falls out when she pulls on it.

Next week Cuddy will move into House’s office while hers is repaired. With any luck we will get more sass, more Wilson and less patient drama.